My Little Pony: Dark Star

Chapter Thirty Nine.
The Power of The Alicorn.

Opaline opened her eyes as small pieces of debris rained down around her, she coughed as the dust settled. Shifting over onto her side, she locked eyes with Shooting Star, who was covering one of her ears, blood trickling down from her and down the side of her head.

Opaline turned her focus onto Misty, lying motionless some 10 feet away with blood leaking from her nose and from the back of her head, "Misty!" She shouted, eyes widening as she forced herself up onto her hooves. She let out pained gasps as she quickly limped over to the blue unicorn, she gently shook the unicorn with her hoof, "Misty! Wake up! Please!"

"Oh no, what a shame. Your little pet is dead. So sad." Dark Star cackled sarcastically, her horn smoking from the powerful blast, "Once I'm done with you two, nothing will stop me from conquering the universe and destroying your precious Stellar and her friends."

Opaline froze as Dark Star's word struck deep within her soul, in an instant she saw red. She screamed as her horn crackled, without thinking, she used her magic to rip a huge chunk from the wall and hurled it toward Dark Star.

Dark Star blasted the chunk of the wall with her blast, creating a large dust cloud. Opaline leapt through the dust, adrenaline overtaking the pain raging through her leg as she tackled the larger alicorn, forcing her to the ground.

"I've had enough of this!" Opaline screamed, pulling a dagger from under her torn cloak. She swung the small blade toward Dark Star's neck, but it stopped short of its target.

Dark Star chuckled darkly, using her magic to stop the dagger, her remaining eye glowed a deep purple. She raised her hoof and struck Opaline hard in the side of her ribcage, grinning as she heard a sickening crack.

Opaline fell to the side from the force of the strike, she gasped for air frantically as she struggled to stand back up.

"I destroyed Celestia and Luna." Dark Star sinisterly spoke, "You never stood a chance against me." She grabbed Opaline by the scruff of her neck and threw her back into the throne room, crashing against the wall.

Opaline held her side in pain as she fell flat onto the floor, "You'll... You'll never win, Twilight. Even if I die today, others will rise to take my place." Opaline gasped, finally catching her breath through the pain.

"Then I'll have to destroy you all!" Dark Star's horn illuminated the room as lightning flashed through the windows, a stray bolt crackled down through the shattered skylight, striking the throne in the centre of the room.

"You’ll never get the chance." Opaline rose to her hooves, the smoke from a now burning throne filled her nose. She threw her tattered cloak to the side and grabbed the dagger with her magic, "You will never rule Equestria." She raised the small blade.

"You never know when to quit, do you?" Dark Star gritted her teeth in frustration, her patience with the small alicorn wearing extremely thin. Her horn crackled in the rapidly smoke-filling air, her decaying face illuminated by the flames and her horn, her cheekbone visible. Dark Star released a powerful beam of pure magic at Opaline, the smaller alicorn leaping out of the way, diving behind some rubble, "Come out, come out, wherever you are~" Dark Star sang darkly, the orange flames casting her shadow on the wall.

Opaline looked down at all the shards of broken glass littering the floor and an idea formed in her mind. She stepped out from behind the rubble, horn glowing as she levitated all the glass shards in the air. She stretched out her hoof, and the glass shards shot towards Dark Star.

Dark Star shielded herself, but a few stray shards found their marks and sliced deep at her skin, she grunted in pain as her physical form began to weaken. Falling to one knee, "You really think you can kill me so easily?" She chuckled, looking up at Opaline.

The flames from the burning throne quickly started to crawl up the wall, spreading along old tattered tapestries from occupiers long since passed.

"Where... Where am I?" Misty spoke, snapping her eyes open. The blue unicorn found herself floating in an inky black void. Voices echoed in the void as images of moments from Misty's life. Her face scrunching up in confusion at her surroundings, "Opaline! Where are you?!" She called out into the oppressive darkness.

"This Opaline... Does she care for you?" A voice spoke out, as a vague pony-like figure formed out of the void.

"What? Who are you? Where’s Opaline?!" Misty said frantically, panic starting to set in the mind of the blue unicorn as her chest felt like it was in a vice. Suddenly, Mistyl fell to the floor with a thud.

"Be still my child, I only want to talk." The figure spoke calmly, gently tapping the floor as they slowly sat.

Misty raised her head, still lying belly down on the floor, her eyes looking at the figure hesitantly, "Why? Why do you want to talk? I don’t even know you." She spoke bluntly and quickly returned to her hooves, "Take me back to my mom!" She shouted.

"I can’t take you back to her. Because you're dead, Misty." The figure replied, still in a calm tone.

"Wha- What?" Misty blinked twice, "What do you mean I'm dead?" Her voice was an alarmed tone.

"When Dark Star blew the door open, one of the door knobs struck you right in the back of the head." The figure calmly explained.

"Im... Dead?" Misty's voice cracked, her hood feeling the back of her head on instinct.

"Sadly, yes..." The figure said glumly, once again tapping the floor next to them, "Come, sit." It added, the voice soft and soothing as it spoke.

"No. I can’t be dead!" Misty began to cry, "I want my mom!" Tears began to pour down her cheeks, "Please... I want my mom..." She sobbed, "I want to go home..."

"I can’t take you home..." The figure spoke in a mournful tone, "Only you can make the choice whether to move on or go back, Misty." It continued, now in a mournful yet calm tone.

"My... My choice?" Misty paused her sobbing, looking up at the figure, her eyes red and puffy, "What do you mean by my choice?!" She raised her voice, her throat sore.

"You're in Limbo, Misty. Here, you get to have a choice." The figure spoke, its featureless face showing no emotion, "Normally, the choice given is to whether you go up." It raised its hoof up towards the 'sky', "Or whether you go down." It then lowered its hoof to the 'floor'.

Misty gulped slightly as her eyes followed the hoof as it pointed downwards.

"But in your case..." The figure continued, "You're being given the choice whether to go on into the afterlife or to return to the living realm." It explained, "But that is what I want to ask you about." The figure finished.

"What is there to even ask?" Misty raised her eyebrow slightly, wiping her tears away with her hoof, "I want my mom..." The blue unicorn spoke softly.

"Because from what I've seen from your memories, she treated you like nothing more than an object." The figure spoke in a soft, gentle tone as it pointed to a recent memory from Misty of Opaline shoving a picture of her friends in her face while scolding her about friendship being worthless.

Misty went to raise her hoof in an attempt to rebuttal, she paused when no counterpoint came to mind and slowly lowered her hoof awkwardly.

"That's why I ask. Does she truly care for you?" The figure spoke, its form smokey and shadow-like as Misty finally concentrated on its features.

"I found her diary..." Misty looked down, slightly ashamed about reading through Opaline’s diary, "In it, she expressed her true feelings about me, about every spying mission I was sent on..." Misty paused, gathering her emotions, "How she... How she wanted to scoop me up into her hooves when I returned from missions..." She stuttered, feeling her eyes starting to water.

"And, is this diary genuine?" The figure asked softly, its voice echoing.

"She always kept her room locked... So why wouldn't it be genuine?" Misty rubbed her eyes gently, starting to feel tired with all these questions, "Please, I'm tired of playing 20 questions. Just tell me how to go back..." The blue unicorn's eyes started to feel heavy.

"Ok, ok. You win, Misty..." The figure sighed softly, gently raising its hoof, "Just be cautious of Opaline, young pony. Now, all you have to do is to wake up." Its hoof poked Misty's chest.

"Hey! That hurt!" Misty hissed before her nostrils tingled, "Why do I smell smoke?" She asked in an alarmed tone as she began to levitate off the floor.

"Farewell, Misty Blossomforth." The figure waved its hoof, the shadowy, smoky form finally disappearing, revealing itself as a unicorn mare, much like Misty but older.

"Mom?" Misty's eyes widened as a bright light enveloped her, "No! Wait!" She screamed as her vision went white.

Misty's eyes snapped open as she gasped for air. Quickly sitting up, she found herself back in Opaline's fortress, head throbbing in pain.

"Misty..." Shooting Star spoke under a staggered breath, weakly glancing over at the seemingly resurrected unicorn.

"Where’s my mom?" Misty asked, wincing as she struggled to stand on her hooves, "Where's Opaline?" She added, looking around at the broken pieces of the wooden door scattered around.

"She's holding off Dark Star." Shooting Star quickly limped towards the blue unicorn, gesturing to the throne room, "Now come, we gotta go." She grabbed Misty’s hoof with her wing.

"NO! I'm not leaving my mom!" Misty screamed, gritting her teeth in pain as she yanked her hoof out from Shooting Star's wing.

"We've not got time for this, we're running out of time!" Shooting Star shouted at Misty, reaching for the unicorn, only for Misty to run towards the throne room doorway, "Misty, come back! Misty!" The pegasi shouted, limping after the unicorn.

Misty leapt through the doorway, diving behind the throne as Opaline’s sword locked blades with Dark Star's weapon.

"Once I'm done with you your precious little Steller will be mine, those crystals will be mine, and this world will be mine!" Dark Star slammed her blade down on Opaline's sword repeatedly.

Misty peaked out from behind the throne, eyes widening as she looked at Opaline as she struggled against Dark Star's powerful strikes, "Think Misty, think." She held her hooves to the temples of her head, "Wait, I got it." She looked up at a low-hanging banner close to where Dark Star had Opaline pinned down, fire surrounding the two alicorns locked in battle. Misty quickly got down low and scuttled across the floor like a crab towards the window ledge.

"First I killed Argyle. Now I'll kill you." Dark Star grinned wickedly, raising her blade for the final blow as Opaline's defence finally collapsed, the smaller alicorn falling onto her belly, "It's poetic, my dear Opaline!" The taller alicorn taunted as Opaline's sword fell into the small reflecting pool that lay in the centre of the throne room, "You would've made a fine apprentice, shame. Now, any last words?"

Opaline weakly raised her head, spitting out blood at Dark Star's hooves, "Go to hell..." The small alicorn coughed painfully.

"No no, you misunderstand, it's you, who will be going to hell." Dark Star smirked, "No one can save you now, Arcana." She swung the blade down.

"Wanna bet?!" Misty shouted, swinging down from the window ledge on the banner. Misty's hooves connected with Dark Star's ribcage, catching the alicorn off guard and sending her crashing through Opaline's throne before her blade could strike Opaline, "Stay away from my mom!" The unicorn jumped from the banner, grabbing Dark Star's weapon, a large heavy scythe, with her hooves.

Dark Star shook off the rubble of the now destroyed throne, "You little runt." Her eyes blazed with hatred, "You should’ve stayed dead!" She lunged at Misty.

Misty braced for impact, clenching her eyes shut. But the impact never came, slowly opening her eyes she found herself in a protective bubble, her horn pulsing with magic as sparkles and shimmers danced around the pointy tip, "Wha! I have magic!" She smiled excitedly.

"What?!" Dark Star screamed, slamming her hooves down on the bubble, "How is that possible?! You have no cutie mark!" She slammed her hoof down on the bubble, cracking it.

Misty flinched as the bubble cracked, her horn glowed brightly as the bubble burst with a powerful shockwave, slamming Dark Star against the wall. Misty ran towards Opaline, "Mom!" The blue unicorn shouted.

"Misty..." Opaline spoke weakly, looking up with tired eyes as Misty scooped Opaline’s fallen sword from the reflecting pool, "No... Go... Leave me..."

"I'm not leaving you!" Misty shook her head, dropping the sword before Opaline as Dark Star rose to her hooves again.

"I'm tired of you and your runt of a daughter getting in my way." Dark Star turned her face towards the duo, half of her face burning away, exposing her jawbone and eye socket. She started to charge forward.

Opaline, using the last of her strength, pushed Misty away into the reflecting pool. Dark Star's horn began crackling against the smoke and ember-filled air as she charged.

The dark alicorn lunged forward but let out a pained gasp as she fell to the floor, crashing onto her side just beside Opaline. She looked down at her chest, finding Opaline's sword forced right through her, she looked back up at Opaline as the small alicorn weakly rose to her hooves.

"You took Argyle. I'll never let you take anything ever again." Opaline spoke through pained breaths, driving the sword deeper into Dark Star's chest.

Dark Star gasped before gritting her teeth "This isn’t over, Arcana." She snickered, her body quickly dissolving into dust and ash.

End of Chapter Thirty Nine.